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MS. DAMLA: We will be linking up with Doctor Marina Solodkin, a member of Parliament from Israel's Kadima Party, insha'Allah. She was born in Moscow and has been engaged in politics in Israel since the 1990s. She served two terms as deputy minister, regularly makes appearances on Russian radio and television and her columns are published in various papers. This is a photograph of Marina Solodkin at a group meeting with Kadima Party leader Tzipi Livni .
ADNAN OKTAR: So the lady is a member of Parliament?
Ms. DAMLA: Yes.
ADNAN OKTAR: Yes, she is currently a member of Parliament in Israel, from the Kadima Party.
MS. DAMLA: Yes. And this is a photograph of her with Yisrael Meir Lau, [former] Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, who visited you.
ADNAN OKTAR: Yes, masha'Allah, masha'Allah. All right, let us link up.
ADNAN OKTAR: Good day. How are you?
MARINA SOLODKIN: Good evening, I'm fine. How are you?
ADNAN OKTAR: Thank you, I am very well. May Allah make you even better. May Allah bestow goodness and beauty on us all.
ADNAN OKTAR: Go ahead, I am listening.
MARINA SOLODKIN: I'm Mrs. Marina Solodkin. I was born in Moscow, and lived for 40 years in Moscow. Then as a Russian Jew I came to Israel in 1991, and in 1996 I entered the Israeli Parliament and now I'm in my fifth term in the Israeli Parliament. I was Deputy Minister of Immigration and Absorption in Israel. I was the head of the Women's Committee in the Parliament, and for fifteen years, I've made laws about the rights of immigrants, the rights of women, and about social and economic issues very important, very important to Israel. I'm very much interested in Turkish history and the Turkish people, and that's why I thank you that I'm privileged to talk to you.
ADNAN OKTAR: Thank you and welcome. It is an honor. We love you as the children of the prophets Abraham (pbuh), Moses (pbuh) and Jacob (pbuh).
MARINA SOLODKIN: All right. I wanted to… I'm fascinated by the Turkish history of the period during the rule of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and in the '20s and the '30s, women of Turkey gained many rights. There was a ban on polygamy and [women gained] a right to vote. How does this go together with modern Islam, these rights [for women]?
ADNAN OKTAR: The finest thing about Ataturk is that he prepared the way for the way of the Messiah, the King Messiah. He prepared the way for democracy. He settled democracy in Turkey. He opened the way for art and science. And, most important of all, he broke the back of bigotry and extremism. And he therefore cleared the way for Turkish-Islamic Union. That was thanks to Ataturk. Ataturk said that the Turkish and Islamic worlds would eventually unite, and that the whole world will be brothers. My analysis of the hadiths is that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is someone who prepared the way for the Mahdi, the King Messiah.
MARINA SOLODKIN: I see. But I wanted to see the difference between the moderate Islam and the militant Islam. The militant Islam, as we know, is an enemy of women. What about moderate Islam?
ADNAN OKTAR: There is no such thing as moderate and radical Islam. Rather, there is the way of the antichrist [antimessiah] and the way of the Mahdi [King Mashiach]. What they call radical Islam is the way of the antichrist, and what they call moderate Islam is just Islam itself. Islam is in any event moderate. By moderate, it espouses love, peace and brotherhood. And so we refer to the view that represents the way of the Mahdi [King Messiah] as moderate Islam. And what they call radical Islam is the way of the antichrist, of shaytan.
MARINA SOLODKIN: Thank you for the explanation. But I also want to know, a year ago I was in France, in Marseilles, and I saw many Islamic women in burqa, covering their faces so you can't see even the eyes of them. What is your attitude toward this development of Islam?
ADNAN OKTAR: The burqa covers the face and eyes. I respect women when it comes to their clothing. I have female friends who dress very up-to-date. Women with low necklines even come, and we talk together. I also have sisters who cover up. To my way of thinking, nobody should interfere in how women dress. Anyone who wants should wear the burqa, or cover up entirely, or wear plunging necklines. Or they can dress ultra modern if they so wish. I regard oppressing people because of how they dress as fascism and thoroughly dislike it. For example, Jewish women cover themselves up, and some even shave their heads. That is their belief. So be it. Some wear felt hats, and that is fine. And others dress in other ways, they cover themselves with a shawl made of linen. They grow their hair at the sides and let it hang down over the shawl. That also looks good and interesting. In my view, nobody should interfere with how anyone dresses or any religious symbol. That is what being modern, intellectual and democratic means. But it is immoral to force anyone to wear the burqa or cover up entirely.
MARINA SOLODKIN: Thank you for that explanation. I have… You are right, I have to tell you. We have now some radicalization of the Jewish religion also; we have some cities in Israel where women are wearing something similar to burqa, and we are thinking about how these women can work, how these women can study, and how can they, in burqa, be equal to men?
ADNAN OKTAR: In other words, we must leave it up to them. I love women. I am not in favor of interference. But the great majority of my friends dress in a modern style. Some wear the headscarf, and there are some of them [with headscarves] here with me now. The best thing is to leave people alone. One must not permit interference. Here are young people who dress ultra modern. I see them outside, ladies. It is terribly humiliating to force someone to wear something. In my view, let them wear what they like, whatever makes them happy. But of course we must also enlighten people, caution them against bigoted ideas, tell them the truth and explain how lovely and pleasant a world that is modern, enlightened and full of love will be – and that is what the Qur'an says. That is what we are doing, but it is inhumane to try to bring people to heel by force. That is barbarity.
MARINA SOLODKIN: I agree with you that women are not to be pressured into wearing this clothes or that clothes. Do you think that we, the lawmakers, have to make laws against the pressure?
ADNAN OKTAR: Of course, democracy is a great blessing. People can ensure having normal lives under democracy. But when there is no democracy they lose their sense, equilibrium, creative powers and ability to analyze. That repression was applied in Russia, as you know. And people stopped being human. They enforced it in China. They turned into really strange entities. Art and science die under repression. But democracy brings out all the abilities of people's brains. [When there is democracy,] there is huge growth in art, science, literature and culture. The more democracy and freedom there is, the better for mankind. That is what the Qur'an talks about. And we can see it in the Torah.
MARINA SOLODKIN: Thank you very much. As an Israeli citizen, and as a patriot of the country, I do want to see the relations between my country, Israel, and your country, Turkey to be improving; but unfortunately [after] two years we are seeing the deterioration of the relations. What can we do as lawmakers, as public people, and as religious people?
ADNAN OKTAR: People must be more devout. The Israeli people must be more devout. And the Turkish nation also. And Jews must obey the commandments of the Torah. And, some of our Jewish brothers pretend not to understand, especially with regard to the King Messiah, to the attributes of the King Messiah, and to the time of his coming. That is very wrong. The King Messiah is a person sent by Allah as a savior for all mankind, who will tell people about democracy, love, peace, brotherhood and goodness and who will bring these things in, and who will eliminate war, pain and bloodshed.
Therefore, a Jewish community that seeks the King Messiah and the Mahdi will be supported by Allah and will receive His help. But disregarding the King Messiah means to disregard the Torah. And that means disregarding Allah, may He forbid. And then disaster will strike. That is why we regard the salvation of the world as depending on the King Messiah, that is the Mahdi. That is also the case according to the explicit injunctions in the Torah. When we look at Judaic reference sources, we see that 2012 is the beginning of the age of the King Messiah. All Judaic scholars and commentators, especially high-ranking rabbis, know this. And these facts can clearly be seen when one examines the Torah and the Zohar.
MARINA SOLODKIN: I can agree and disagree with you, and we can take historic examples. In the First World War, Turkey made wrong alliances, and went to the [wrong] people and lost the [Ottoman] Empire and even almost lost their state. And then came a leader, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and said that Turkey has to be a secular country. Aren't you making, once more, a mistake becoming a religious state that is making wrong alliances as with Iran?
ADNAN OKTAR: The sole reason why Turkey lost out, why it lost the lands of the Ottoman Empire, is that it was not religious. They lost their religious devotion. And Darwinism and materialism then flourished in the Ottoman Empire. Many Ottoman intellectuals became Darwinists and materialists. They lost their faith and beliefs. And as a result, the Ottoman Empire collapsed, as a scourge. That is the only reason. Turkey has now begun becoming religious again. The economy is booming. There is no economic crisis in Turkey, while the crisis is still going on in Europe. It is a rich and developing country. And the sole reason is their love and respect for the way of the Mahdi, the way of the Messiah, in other words, the coming of the King Messiah. There will also be growth in Israel. Israel is becoming increasingly religious, and Israel will be devoted to the King Messiah. The Temple of Solomon will be rebuilt. That great salvation awaited for 3,000 years, the Golden Age, will begin. There are no fairy tales in the Torah. What the Torah says about these things is true. The Jewish nation has suffered and been persecuted for centuries. They have always been despised, alienated and lived in suffering. For the first time, they will live in peace and security, in wealth and magnificence. Israeli people will be everywhere over a wide expanse of land, in Lebanon and Egypt and everywhere, and they will rejoice. This will happen thanks to the King Messiah, the Mahdi. But outside that, people will be cursed by Allah. In other words, the reason for all the suffering now is that Allah's curse has spread over people. There is a curse stemming from their opposition to the King Messiah, the Mahdi, and that is upon the world now. But as more people begin to respect and have love for the King Messiah, the Mahdi, Allah will gradually lift that curse. You will see this as of around 2014. The economic crisis will begin to be resolved and the Israeli people will be more religious. You will see that. Israel will make the King Messiah the jewel in its crown. And the walls surrounding Israel will be torn down. You will live in peace and security, in a festive air, across a wide expanse of territory.
MARINA SOLODKIN: Thank you enormously for your answers; we have different opinions, but we have a common desire for our countries to live in peace. Thank you for answering me. Good night.
ADNAN OKTAR: Good night, fine, thank you. Very well, thank you. Yes, we are in agreement on that, and on other matters, insha'Allah.
MARINA SOLODKIN: Good night.